Lillie Esther Magilton

Lillie Esther Magilton, 99, of Newton died on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, at Skiff Medical Center in Newton.

A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at First United Methodist Church in Newton. The family will greet friends from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service on Tuesday at the church and then after the service with a lunch at Park Centre. A burial will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Iowa State University Cemetery in Ames. Memorials to the First United Methodist Church, College of Human Sciences at I.S.U., or the Park Centre Good Samaritan Fund may be left at the church the morning of the service or the Wallace Family Funeral Home.

Lillie, the daughter of Charles and Sirena (Harbin) Stephens, was born on Oct. 11, 1913, in Petrolia, Texas. She grew up in Texas and graduated from Gordon High School in 1931. She received her B.S. from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas and her M.S. from Iowa State University in Ames. Lillie was united in marriage with Dr. J.H. Magilton on June 22, 1946, in Denton. The made their home in many places including David City, Nebraska for 15 years and Ames for 19 years. Lillie was an Assistant Professor of Home Economics from 1962-1979 at Iowa State University in Ames. In 1981, she and her husband retired to Newton. Lillie was a member of the First United Methodist Church where she was active in many circles. She was also a 50 year member of the O.E.S. Chapter 100 and P.E.O. Chapter H.S. She was a 60-year member of D.A.R Grinnell Chapter Lillie enjoyed listening to music, especially piano music, playing bridge, reading and traveling.

Those left to honor Lillie’s memory are her children, Thomas (Pam) Magilton of Newton and Linda (Jim) Lange of St. Charles, Mo.; four grandchildren, Julie (Brian) Schmidt of Newton, Nicholas Magilton of New York City, N.Y., Tom Lange of Indianapolis, Ind., and Brian (Emily) Lange of Nashville, Tenn.; brother of Pam Magilton, Jeff Borron and family of Carlisle; and her many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dr. James H. Magilton; and brothers, Lonnie, Arnold and Rex Stephens.